Top 10 Tide Hotels

The hotel is located 20 meters from where the ferry leaves you from Townsville, so it is not necessary to have the car on the island, although if you bring it to the door of the hotel there is free parking for up to 3 days. The hotel is composed of several blocks, some with simple rooms, others with more or less large apartments. It has a giant pool. The access to the room is by stairs, there is the option of using an elevator, but it can catch you away and not avoid all the stairs, as in our case. Reception staff and lovely bar / restaurant employees.

We completed a 2 night stay 8th-10th February 2023 and it was the absolute worst! We were moved 4x on the same floor within 2hrs or less of checking in. The attitude from the receptionist was unacceptable. Strongly believe after so many moves, an upgrade offer would have been nice. However, the receptionist made us feel as if we were an inconvenience even though it was the hotel’s fault for having faulty air-conditioning. None of the four rooms were getting cold. We were then offered 2 pedestal fans as if we were staying in a back packers accommodation. The receptionist who “helped” us was very rude. We had organised a late check out for 12pm. On the day of checking out, house keeping and the same receptionist with the attitude, kept coming to disturb us in the room alerting us that it was past check out. This kept happening right until 11:40am. Wifi does not work so my husband had to hot spot from his phone to the tv to access Netflix and Fox channels. Only good thing was room service. Our balcony was inaccessible due to rubble and water constantly coming from the construction work on the higher floors. Did notice a chuck of concrete from the balcony edge missing which did not look safe at all. Overall experience has definitely left a bad impression. Upon check out, manager email was requested and formal complaint is being sent. Do appreciate their small token of an apology by discounting room service bill by 20% for the such rudeness and incompetence of housekeeping and that particular receptionist. Customer service is an absolute must for us and this hotel failed miserably. Definitely take your money elsewhere.

There is a feeling of cleanliness in the room. The staff had a very nice smile and was impressive. The location was excellent for sightseeing.

Great place for accomodation , friendly staff members very clean unit .Definitely will stay here again recommended to everyone

On the spur of the moment we decided to stay overnight in Townsville. We looked at many places but really wanted something on The Strand with some views. We decided to check out Waters Edge on the Strand. Went in to see what was available and the lovely Michelle was happy to let me check the 1 bedroom unit out before we committed. It was pretty good but no balcony. Michelle had a studio up on the next level with a balcony but it overlooked the pool so we opted for the first choice. Honestly, the major appeal in choosing to stay was how fabulous, friendly and helpful Michelle was! The unit was nice, although a tad dated. It was obvious there had been some upgrades. The bed was comfortable and having a kitchen, washing machine and dryer was a plus. We enjoyed our stay so much we extended a 2nd night. Only minuses was no balcony, no washing powder and it was very bright at night with light coming through the curtains and the bedroom binds. Pluses - spacious, comfortable, clean, well equipped, central, secure parking and great views. Photos online were accurate so you know what to expect. Would definitely stay again although a higher floor with balcony would be better and also block some of the street light brightness.

The Mercure Townsville is a very comfortable hotel. The rooms are exactly what you'd expect at Mercure, comfy beds, all the necessities. The service is impeccable, and the food is to die for. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay... for the most part. The one downside for us, was the fact that at all hours of the day, sun up to sunset, the manager in place at this hotel deems it acceptable to run Sky News on every TV set around the bar and restaurant. Politics in public spaces is never a good idea. Extreme political bias in public spaces, is downright uncomfortable. Every night we sat there at dinner whilst the typical Sky News opinion piece headlines flashed all over the multiple TV screens throughout what is supposed to be a relaxing space. These headlines were loaded with such extreme (and I would go so far as to say hateful) political bias, that I do not even feel comfortable writing them here, or attaching pictures, for fear that my review may get rejected for the use of the words contained in them. Regardless of your own political standings, I’m sure that the vast majority of reasonable people can agree with me when I say that it is never appropriate to broadcast such a politically charged news station in what is supposed to be an all-inclusive, welcoming space. And let’s not conflate fact as opinion here, it IS an extremely biased, politically charged station, who’s owner is the subject of a royal commission campaign, and who has only very recently been taken to court in the U.S and forced to concede that his media empire knowingly lies. I’m not sure what management is trying to achieve by the all day broadcast of such a controversial station, but it has most definitely resulted in the loss of my own, and my family’s business. Very disappointing, as we otherwise would have been regulars. This has nothing to do with being a “left wing snowflake”. It has nothing to do with being “woke”. This has to do with wanting to go away on holiday and leave politics at home where it belongs. Now, to be fair, we did approach the manager about this situation before coming to the decision that we will not return. The response was entirely unacceptable and in our view, unprofessional. He told us that he did change the station after our last visit, but that the regulars at the hotel asked for it to be turned back onto Sky News, and so he did. So on our next visit to the hotel, there it was again. We approached the manager again regarding this, and his response to us was that “he can’t win”. He then told us that he will make a note to ensure the channel is changed when we visit. We found this utterly demeaning, condescending and, to be frank, insulting. He doubled down on the previous reasoning that the regulars ask for Sky News because, in his own words, “It is the most informative”. Sir, there is nothing informative about the headlines we witnessed on this station during our multiple visits. It is not news, it is political “discussion” loaded with extreme bias

We have been using Rydges SouthBank as our home base for quite a few years now due to its close proximity to the Football stadium and it is within walking distance to town and various eating places. We usually stay in the top grade rooms some of which have been updated and some are badly in need of an update. Luck of the draw which room you get allocated although they all cost the same regardless of fittings. We have found the staff to be friendly and helpful most of the time. We enjoy their Buffett breakfast and as Rydges members we get that as a 2 for one deal. Unfortunately their restaurant is no longer operational so the other perks of being Rydges members cannot be used. We do like the undercover off street parking for our car.